The electronics industry has experienced an ever increasing demand for smaller and faster electronic devices which are simultaneously able to support a greater number of increasingly complex and sophisticated functions. Accordingly, there is a continuing trend in the semiconductor industry to manufacture low-cost, high-performance, and low-power integrated circuits (ICs). Thus far these goals have been achieved in large part by scaling down semiconductor IC dimensions (e.g., minimum feature size) and thereby improving production efficiency and lowering associated costs. However, such scaling has also introduced increased complexity to the semiconductor manufacturing process. Thus, the realization of continued advances in semiconductor ICs and devices calls for similar advances in semiconductor design, manufacturing processes, and technology.
At least one existing challenge relates to the design and implementation of finger capacitors (“fingercaps”), which may be used as part of a variety of IC devices such as voltage controlled oscillators (VCOs), analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), or other IC devices. In some cases, fingercaps may be employed as part of an LC tank or resonator circuit. Finger capacitor designs are critical for achieving high LC tank performance, and at least some advanced IC devices (e.g., VCOs) may be designed to operate at a specific target capacitance. With the continued scaling down of IC dimensions, it has been challenging to maintain high fingercap performance and quality factor (Q), while also providing the desired target capacitance and preserving chip area.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods for providing capacitor structures in integrated circuits.